Photo: Dan Goldblatt
AARP officials say declining health is one reason many baby boomers are being forced to retire before they'd hoped.
AARP Indiana says the nature of retirement is changing in Indiana. AARP State Director June Lyle says the sluggish economy, job losses and health issues are forcing more 65-year-old baby boomers to leave the workforce earlier than expected.
Lyle says studies show 45 percent of 65-year old baby boomers are now fully retired. That figure is up from 19 percent in 2008, but she says it may not tell the whole story.
“This may not actually represent retirement planning,” Lyles says. “People may be responding to things beyond their control: a health condition, loss of a job or job opportunity.”
Recent studies show about 60 percent of retirees nationwide who opt to retire early point to declining health or job loss as the reason. Lyle says retirement decision making should ideally remain based on finances and goal-setting and not biological age.
